Dustin Johnson is Once Again at the Top of a Leaderboard

Dustin Johnson is tied for the lead with Luke List at the RBC Canadian Open after the first round. List has missed five cuts in his last seven tournaments and finished tied for 20th and tied for 50th in the other two. Interestingly, both guys rank in the top 10 in driving distance; Johnson ranks second with an average of 312.3 and List ranks ninth with an average of 305.6.

Johnson’s power is spectacular and on the par-5 18th hole he showed just what he can do by hitting a 364-yard drive off the tee followed by a 150-yard gap wedge to just inside 11 feet. He sank the putt and walked away with an eagle.

" How did DJ eagle the 524-yard par-5 18th … Driver, gap wedge, putter. ? https://t.co/n1uPbmitUr — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 21, 2016 "

I’m a DJ fan, that much should be obvious if you’ve read anything I’ve written or follow me on Twitter/Facebook, and even though Johnson had nine PGA Tour wins prior to this season, it always felt like he could never quite put it all together and become one of the big three, four, or five. Now that he actually has that major championship win at the U.S. Open under his belt, things seem to be clicking for him.

After Johnson’s win at the U.S. Open, he took a week off and came back and won the WGC-Bridgestone invitational. Johnson’s run at back-to-back major wins didn’t come to fruition like I hoped, but he still finished in the top 10 at Royal Troon, his 11th top 10 finish this season.

While Johnson still trails Jason Day in the world rankings, with a good finish or win this week he could put more distance between himself and number three Jordan Spieth and four Rory McIlroy, who aren’t playing this week, heading into the PGA Championship at Baltusrol next week.

Johnson is seeking his third win of the season while Luke List is attempting to win the first tournament of his professional career.